The Sun Spewed An Enormous Solar Flare On Mother’s Day

The sun unleashed a colossal Mother’s Day solar flare on Sunday (May 12) in what has become the most powerful solar eruption of the year.

The giant solar flare, which registered as one of the largest eruptions the sun can unleash, peaked Sunday night at 10:17 p.m. EDT (0217 GMT) and was captured on camera by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory. It sparked an hour-long high-frequency radio blackout, according to the Space Weather Prediction Center overseen by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Sunday’s solar flare registered as an X1.7-class sun eruption — the strongest type of solar flare the sun can fire off, according to the SWPC officials. [Most Powerful Solar Storms of 2013 (Photos)]